A previous installment of this column featured short vocal recitals by noted sarangi players, demonstrating how they among a few other musicians were multi-faceted when it came to the ease with which they handled their instruments, additional instruments or even vocal music. In fact, sarangi players Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Abdul Aziz Khan shifted to vocal music and the vichitra veena respectively. Unfortunately, we do not have recordings of their sarangi recitals.
At times, special circumstances led few musicians to engage with more than one discipline, although they did not necessarily pursue more than one as performers, or not on a regular basis. For instance, some of those who decided to establish music classes in the first few decades of the twentieth century in India taught more than one subject.
Jaffer Khan, a rudra veena and sitar player also well-versed in vocal music, taught tabla, harmonium, jaltarang and vocal music, under the banner of the Dadar Sangeet Vidyalaya started by him. Once again, we do not have any recordings of Jaffer Khan.
But his son, Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan, the well-known virtuosic sitar player, while sharing experiences of his career as a musician for films narrated a few instances when he sang and played the jaltarang for some movies. He sang a line in a children’s chorus Chalijae Jeevan ki Rail, Pha Ka Pha Ka Pha Ka composed by Rafiq Ghaznavi, a vichitra vina player, singer and harmonium player, for the film Bahurani. He also played jaltarang in the film Marvi, the music for which was composed by Madholal Master, and in Nadan and Mahatma Vidur, both of which had DP Korgaonkar alias Dada Korgaonkar as the music director.
Another music class that was popular in the Dadar TT area of Mumbai was started by Manhar Barve around 1940. More popular as a teacher than a performer, Barve was primarily a vocalist but also played ghungrootarang, kaach (kaanch) tarang, jaltarang and kashtarang. He also taught tabla in his class. Here is a track of him singing a composition set to Ektaal, a cycle of 12 matras or time-units, in the raag Kalavati.
Barve sings a composition set to Ektaal in the raag Adana.
The third track features a popular composition in the raag Gaud Malhar sung by Manhar Barve. The composition is set to the 16-matra Teentaal.
And now we move to three tracks that may probably appear strange to many listeners. The first one has a melodic-percussive solo on ghungrutarang or strings of ankle-bells. Barve attempts at simulating the melody that is played alongside.
The next track has a short kashtatarang recital. Having wooden resonating bars or strips, this rarely-heard instrument is an Indian version of the marimba.
We end with something that does not qualify as an instrument and yet was recorded for commercial distribution probably for its peculiarity. The recording is entitled Musical Submarine and features Barve presenting a composition set to Teentaal in the raag Komal Rishabh Asavari. He elaborates the composition as would be done in a conventional vocal recital, but with one major difference. He does not sing. Instead, he produces a tone that seems to be a strange clicking of his tongue with a nasal twang. How he did this is anyone’s guess and the relation between this tonal quality and a submarine is left to the listeners’ imagination.